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Kaloha is the granddaughter of the Original King Bricelyn, and the Original Queen, Beauty, and daughter Joyia and the Forgotten King Lycinae. She is stoic, calm, and always prepared to defend her pride.
She adores her mother more than anything in the world. She watches the aging lioness with care. The fur around her mother's muzzle grows thinner, seemingly by the day. Kaloha doesn't remember her grandmother much, but she remembers the smell of age. Each day, her mother smells more and more like that.
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Her mother congratulates her on the birth of 2 sons. They are fine boys, small perhaps, but strong. They will make fine subordinates. They will. Surely Tiagren won't turn out HER sons?
But the sadness in her mother's eyes reflect more than Kaloha is willing to admit.
The day after her sons are born, Kaloha receives word that Joyia won't eat or leave the den. She brings her mother her favorite snacks, but the old lioness refuses. Kaloha lays beside her mother and grooms her gently, her old body sharp in bone against Kaloha's caring tongue. Kaloha hadn't realized how poor her mother had grown, how age had sapped the strength from the white female, leaving Joyia as fragile as the cubs that nursed from Kaloha's body.
"I'll wait for them," Joyia says, though she doesn't seem to realize she's muttered it aloud.
"Of course you will. They need their grandmother to help make them into good kings." Joyia shakes her head gently before facing the wall. Kaloha smells her mother's tears, but doesn't know their cause, nor does she ask.
It's not long before Kaloha leaves for a moment to relieve herself and have a drink of water. Her mother and cubs drift peacefully.
The other lionesses ask after Joyia. Though she refused to have any other cubs besides Kaloha, the others view the oldest lioness as a mother figure.
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The tiny cubs all wonder how the stoic lioness earned the scar across her mouth. Some say it was in battle with an irate mother elephant during a hunt. Others say it was due to a leopard over fresh meat. She smiles and nods and tells them they're all correct. But what's the truth? She'll never tell.
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Kaloha greets you with a frowned look on her face. Where have you been the whole day? There's so much to do!
You find Kaloha carefully watching the ducks in the water. You ask her what she's doing. She tells you that she hunts the best if she knows the behavior of her prey. Smart...but couldn't she take a break? It's been hours!
When you come to say hello, Kaloha runs to you, making sure you look your best today with a few licks on your cheek.
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Mondel, the oldest lioness in the pride, approaches her
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